A party of good-time hits, by George

Concert review

August 4, 2008|By Matthew J. Palm, Sentinel Staff Writer

George Michael fans who kept the faith were rewarded with a reunion heavy on dance hits Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

Michael's first major concert tour in nearly two decades played to more than 11,000 Central Floridians who were singing along to 25 years of hits such as "Father Figure," "One More Try," "Freedom '90" and, of course, the iconic "Faith."

Early on, the British singer announced he was suffering from a cold -- blaming Americans' omnipresent air conditioning -- and the second half of the show was shorter than at other tour stops, depriving fans of favorites such as "Kissing a Fool" and "Praying for Time."

Still, the show clocked in at about two hours of performance time, and provided a visual, musical and nostalgic treat.

The stage was an amazing cascade of digital lights that Michael could walk on or through, surrounding himself with color and light.

And those lights got a workout, throbbing to the high-energy beat of some of Michael's best dance-club work: "Amazing," "Flawless" and "Outside" delivered a 1-2-3 punch that had the diverse crowd on its feet and Michael showing he can still shake his booty.

"Amazing" was dedicated to Michael's partner, Kenny Goss, and the singer gave a nod and a wink to his homosexuality, during "Everything She Wants." After the lyric "I said you were the perfect girl for me," Michael ad-libbed, "Yeah, right" with a smile.

"Everything She Wants" wasn't the only flashback to the heady days of Wham!

"Careless Whisper" was a melodramatic sing-along. And early on, after a funked-up snippet of 1985's "I'm Your Man," Michael said, "I wouldn't do that to you" and launched into a full-blown classic-pop rendition, igniting the crowd.